AMO Complete MoisturePlus: Link to Acanthamoeba Keratitis Confirmed

Jacksonville, FLAccording to a just-released report, ongoing investigations have confirmed a strong link between AMO Complete MoisturePlus Multi-Purpose lens Solution, and increased risk for the development of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK).

In the July issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology (AJO), researchers spoke of a "strong association" between the use of AMO MoisturePlus, and the onset of the rare, but serious AK infection.

The ongoing investigation amounts to a confirmation of a suspicion first raised last year, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDCP) announced, in its' opinion that a marked increase in the number of AK cases and a subsequent investigation by the University of Chicago at Illinois (UCI) found a 16-fold likelihood that users of AMO Complete MoisturePlus would develop AK, when compared to those who had not.

Doctors at the UCI first noticed an upward spike in AK cases in 2003. Monitoring and investigations through the end of 2006 revealed a total of 63 AK cases over a three-year period. Two, or three cases in each given year was regarded as the norm.

UCI researchers at the university's Cornea Service investigated 30 AK cases against 39 matched controls who wore soft contact lenses without sign of infection.

Results pointed to a significant likelihood in patients with the AK infection having used, exclusively, the AMO Complete MoisturePlus solution.

UCI researchers reported their findings to the CDCP in Atlanta, which in turn notified the manufacturer and distributor, Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana, California of the findings.

The company issued a voluntary recall earlier this year, and urged consumers to not only stop using the product, but to dispose of all solution, lens, and containers. In short, anything that might have come in contact with allegedly tainted solution, would have to thrown out.

It should be noted that researchers found that nearly 39 per cent of AK cases studied reported either no use of AMO Complete MoisturePlus, or use of MoisturePlus in combination with other products.

This carries the possibility of other risk factors present. The latest data, as reported in the July issue of the AJO, suggests that practises such as re-using contact lens solution, rubbing lenses during cleaning, and showering while lenses are being worn serves to further increase the risk.

The offending amoeba is often found in bodies of water, and supplies of water.

AK is a painful infection of the cornea that can result in corneal scarring, and if left untreated could lead to blindness. Often, corneal transplants are required.
Symptoms can include eye pain and redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, the feeling of something in the eye, and excessive tearing.

While Advanced Medical Optics wasted no time in recalling the product once concerns were raised, the company is bracing for the economic fallout. There have already been predictions of a loss in revenue of between U.S. $57, and $69 billion dollars this year alone.